- Jul 28, 2012
- 6,882
- 9,068
Great game for neutrals but lousy for fans of both sides as it was ping pong from the get go. I understand our defence was makeshift with neither Jan or Davinson available to start but still it was a fucking shambles. The marking on corners and set pieces was abysmal and the way we contrived to lose Vardy for the first goal was a circus pantomime.
I felt that Vic and Sissoko in the middle was a disaster and they both struggled with Leicesters pace. For the first 35 minutes the Foxes looked like fucking Barca and we were at sixes and sevens. Apart from the forays up the flanks by Danny Rose and KWP there was little respite from the Leicester counter attacks. There were a few cameos where KWPs crosses saw both HK and Lamela arriving on time with the Foxes doing some last ditch defending. This was an indication of how we would put them to the sword in the second half.
I thought the 2-1 at half time was about right as we were shambolic and pulled out of shape easily. Toby and Dier looked as thought they had just met for the first time in the tunnel.
Second half and we go down 3-1 and I am thinking how the hell did we get here? Then a remarkable turn around with Lamela timing his runs beautifully to put us back in the game. I have to say that Harry’s second goal was simply sublime, wrong footing the defence and curling in a pearler.
I thought Hugo had an excellent game, kept us in it with some smart saves. But please Hugo no more dribbling in your penalty area FFS. Danny Rose was 150% into it commitment wise and it was good to see the return of the angry little man. A nice performance from KWP with his offensive game but pretty woeful defensively in sections when Leicester were counter attacking at will. His positioning was also poor but there was a lot of positives overall.
I don’t know what to make of the center. Toby, Eric Dier, Vic and Sissoko all played badly. The aggressive high line against a team like the Foxes with Vardy, Gray etc is a lottery and if you don’t play as a unit with the offside trap, they will punish you, which is what happened. I was disappointed with Moura. I thought he choose to shoot at distance when a pass was preferable. Eriksen struggled to have any influence for long periods and Harry and Erik Lamela were passengers in the first half apart from Harry’s goal. All in all not one of our better performances. The flimsiness in our CM play and lack of concentration in defence over recent weeks came back to haunt us. We’ve looked poor since Chelsea. A lucky win in my opinion.
Lamela MOM followed closely by Hugo, Rose and KWP. The team looks knackered and a few players have been shown up in the last two months. We need some fresh blood. Still to give the lads their due, they stuck to their guns, didn’t let their heads drop and fought back. A fantastic courageous effort and it shows the fighting spirit and self belief Poch has instilled in the team. When you consider having to play home games at Wembley, adjust to a bigger pitch, cope with injuries to key players etc. it’s been a fantastic effort and I am very proud of Poch and the team.
Will Poch get funds to reboot the side? I doubt it will happen. He needs to sort out the FB positions and CM needs an overhaul and has to get cover for HK. Levy will have to take a financial risk. I think we have travelled as far as we can by holding on to the purse strings. Not great timing for ENIC with stadium debt but who dares wins. It will be an interesting summer before we get back to NWHL.
I felt that Vic and Sissoko in the middle was a disaster and they both struggled with Leicesters pace. For the first 35 minutes the Foxes looked like fucking Barca and we were at sixes and sevens. Apart from the forays up the flanks by Danny Rose and KWP there was little respite from the Leicester counter attacks. There were a few cameos where KWPs crosses saw both HK and Lamela arriving on time with the Foxes doing some last ditch defending. This was an indication of how we would put them to the sword in the second half.
I thought the 2-1 at half time was about right as we were shambolic and pulled out of shape easily. Toby and Dier looked as thought they had just met for the first time in the tunnel.
Second half and we go down 3-1 and I am thinking how the hell did we get here? Then a remarkable turn around with Lamela timing his runs beautifully to put us back in the game. I have to say that Harry’s second goal was simply sublime, wrong footing the defence and curling in a pearler.
I thought Hugo had an excellent game, kept us in it with some smart saves. But please Hugo no more dribbling in your penalty area FFS. Danny Rose was 150% into it commitment wise and it was good to see the return of the angry little man. A nice performance from KWP with his offensive game but pretty woeful defensively in sections when Leicester were counter attacking at will. His positioning was also poor but there was a lot of positives overall.
I don’t know what to make of the center. Toby, Eric Dier, Vic and Sissoko all played badly. The aggressive high line against a team like the Foxes with Vardy, Gray etc is a lottery and if you don’t play as a unit with the offside trap, they will punish you, which is what happened. I was disappointed with Moura. I thought he choose to shoot at distance when a pass was preferable. Eriksen struggled to have any influence for long periods and Harry and Erik Lamela were passengers in the first half apart from Harry’s goal. All in all not one of our better performances. The flimsiness in our CM play and lack of concentration in defence over recent weeks came back to haunt us. We’ve looked poor since Chelsea. A lucky win in my opinion.
Lamela MOM followed closely by Hugo, Rose and KWP. The team looks knackered and a few players have been shown up in the last two months. We need some fresh blood. Still to give the lads their due, they stuck to their guns, didn’t let their heads drop and fought back. A fantastic courageous effort and it shows the fighting spirit and self belief Poch has instilled in the team. When you consider having to play home games at Wembley, adjust to a bigger pitch, cope with injuries to key players etc. it’s been a fantastic effort and I am very proud of Poch and the team.
Will Poch get funds to reboot the side? I doubt it will happen. He needs to sort out the FB positions and CM needs an overhaul and has to get cover for HK. Levy will have to take a financial risk. I think we have travelled as far as we can by holding on to the purse strings. Not great timing for ENIC with stadium debt but who dares wins. It will be an interesting summer before we get back to NWHL.
Last edited: